1. Technical Field
The following description relates to one or more techniques that allows a user to individually identify a plurality of terminal devices interconnected via a network with different expressions given by the plurality of terminal devices from each other.
2. Related Art
Image formation devices, such as printers and MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals), are generally provided with a display screen for displaying an operation procedure etc. in order to improve operability thereof. Some of the image formation devices can arbitrarily change a color of an image displayed on the display screen depending on the kind of the image. Each of such image formation devices is configured such that a colored image can be displayed on the display screen and the color thereof is changed depending on an operating state of the image formation device. For example, in the case of a shortage of sheets or a paper jam, a different background color from a normal display color is displayed on the display screen to inform a user of the above operating state of the image formation device in the case. Such a technique is disclosed, for instance, in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. P2002-296981A (hereinafter, referred to as '981 publication).
In addition, recently, in an environment where computers such as personal computers (hereinafter, simply referred to as “PCs”) are used, a network system is installed, and image formation devices are connected to the network to establish a printing system. In this printing system, output data is transmitted to the image formation device from the PC via the network, and is outputted from the image formation device. Since the network can have a connection with a plurality of image formation devices, a user can execute a data output operation (printing-out operation) using any one of the plurality of image formation devices connected to the network.
Some of the image formation devices connectable to the network provide information for operating them to the PCs connected to the image formation devices via the network. There is displayed on a display device of the PC, for example, section names and/or floor numbers where the image formation devices are located based upon the information provided from the image formation devices. Further, a graphic image of the network is displayed such that locations of the image formation devices can be identified on the graphic image.
In addition, in a general printing system, settings for an image formation device are configured such that a user browses the settings on a PC and/or the image formation device. There are cited as examples of the settings for the image formation devices network function settings, printing settings, time settings, remote settings for immediately rebooting the image formation device from a test printing. The network function settings, which are necessary for the image formation device executing a network operation, include settings of an IP address and addresses of a sub net mask and a default gateway. When the PC makes the image formation device execute the printing-out operation via the network, it is difficult to impossible to execute the printing-out operation in the case where a destination to which print data is to be sent is not assigned. Therefore, it is better to configure the settings for the addresses (such as the IP address) of the image formation device. Since the IP address, a serial number, and a node name are information that serves as an index for specifying one image formation device, the user can identify the image formation device as an operation target based upon the information.
Meanwhile, for example, when a plurality of image formation devices is installed in an office, the same type of image formation devices are deployed to minimize support for different devices, but rather permitting the support for one type of device. In addition, even though the plurality of image formation devices is not the same type, there are many devices with similar appearances. In such a case, it is often hard to individually identify the devices from remote places.
In the image formation device described in '981 publication, by visually recognizing the display screen thereof, the user can judge whether the image formation device is under an error condition. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to judge at a glance whether an image formation device is a device that the user himself has assigned to the destination to which the print data is to be sent (i.e., the operation target).
In addition, in the printing system disclosed in '559 publication, such an image formation device that detailed data on its location is required to be previously inputted to a printer location database by a user, or such an image formation device that its location has to be confirmed based upon a floor map prepared with its location being shown thereon together with its IP address and/or serial number, there is required not only trouble of preparing necessary materials and configuring necessary settings, but also a lot of trouble of maintenance, since the materials and settings have to be changed every time the installation location thereof is changed. Moreover, when it is needed to walk around individually confirming the IP addresses and serial numbers of the image formation devices, the image formation devices are required to be individually operated to make each of the image formation devices display its IP address. In this case, since the IP address or serial number is represented as only arrangement of characters, even though such kind of information is displayed, it is hard to confirm at a glance the location of the image formation device. Consequently, the user has to confirm the location of the image formation device based upon a status thereof which is individually changed to be displayed. In this case, since the user has to operate the image formation device with coming and going between the PC and the image formation device, the user is forced to perform troublesome operations. There is a further problem that the user has to break the use of the image formation device during the operation for confirming the location thereof, accompanied by operating the image formation device.
For this reason, as shown in FIG. 20, although an image formation device B is actually an operation target, a user of a PC is likely to misunderstand that an image formation device A is the operation target. FIG. 20 is an illustration showing an example of problems in the aforementioned conventional technologies.